Report: Chicago Highway Bottlenecks Among Worst Nationwide

A January 2006 Federal Highway Administration report shows that Chicago has one of the worst highway interchange bottlenecks in the nation.

In addition, the report finds that the nation overall is experiencing a freight transportation capacity crisis that increasingly threatens the strength and future productivity of the U.S. economy.

The FHWA report, "An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways," found bottlenecks are causing truckers 243 million hours of delay annually. At a direct user cost of $32.15 per hour, the delay from bottlenecks is costing trucking companies nearly $8 billion annually, the report said.

The study analyzed four major types of highway freight bottleneck delays: highway interchanges, signalized intersections, steep grades and lane reductions.

Ranked by annual hours of delay for all trucks, Chicago is one of the top cities for highway interchange bottlenecks, in addition to Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Overall, bottlenecks represent 40 percent of all congestion delays, followed by traffic incidents (25 percent), bad weather (15 percent), work zones (10 percent), poor signal timing (5 percent) and special events (5 percent).

Without major capacity investments, FHWA estimates "that by 2020, 29 percent of urban National Highway System routes will be congested or exceed capacity for much of the day and 42 percent of National Highway System routes will be congested during peak periods."

By comparison, the agency said, only 10 percent of the urban National Highway System routes were congested in 1998.

Bush Budget Cuts Funding For Transit, Airports

President Bush's proposed $2.77 trillion federal budget would cut funding for transit and airport programs but boost highway spending, an analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association shows.

The proposal calls for federal transit investment of $8.88 billion, but this amount is $100 million below the FY 2007 funding level guaranteed by Safe Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

In addition, the Administration's budget recommends a $765 million, or 22 percent, reduction in federal airport construction investment from the current level of $3.52 billion.

On the upside, the proposal recommends record funding for a number of federal transportation programs, including a $3.4 billion boost in federal highway investment.

While a more than $2 billion FY 2007 highway funding increase was called for by the Safe Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), an additional $842 million is recommended in the budget due to Highway Trust Fund Highway Account revenues that exceeded SAFETEA-LU's estimates.

The Administration's budget proposal is not binding but rather represents the first step in the annual budget process. Federal spending decisions for each fiscal year are not finalized until the enactment of the 12 individual appropriations bills.

Study: Delays in Permit Approvals Cause Millions in Lost Revenue